The Government of Canada has released the draft 2026–2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) for public consultation. The strategy outlines federal priorities, targets, and actions to advance sustainable development over the next three years. It is open to input from Canadians, including organizations, researchers, and communities, before being finalized and tabled in Parliament.
The draft strategy and consultation process can be accessed here.
As part of this consultation, Braiding Knowledges Canada submitted feedback highlighting opportunities to strengthen the strategy through deeper engagement with Indigenous leadership, knowledge systems, and interdisciplinary research.
Canada’s Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
Under the Federal Sustainable Development Act, the Government of Canada is required to produce a sustainable development strategy every three years. The FSDS provides a whole-of-government framework aligning federal policies and programs with national priorities such as climate action, economic resilience, and quality of life.
The draft 2026–2029 Strategy consists of three sections:
- Building an Inclusive and Resilient Society
- Driving Sustainable Growth
- Protecting Our Environment and Well-Being
Each section includes goals, targets, indicators, and implementation pathways designed to guide federal action. The strategy also aligns with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.
It further references commitments under Canada’s United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (June 21, 2021), recognizing Indigenous leadership and partnerships as essential components of sustainable development.
Key Reflections from Braiding Knowledges Canada
Braiding Knowledges Canada’s submission identifies several areas where the draft strategy could be strengthened to better reflect the complexity of sustainability challenges in Canada.
1. Moving Beyond “Three Pillars” Toward Integrated Sustainability
The draft FSDS is structured around three pillars: society, economy, and environment. While each contains important priorities, this structure can reinforce separation between systems that are deeply interconnected.
In practice, challenges such as climate change, land use planning, infrastructure development, and economic activity occur simultaneously across these domains. Addressing them in isolation can obscure trade-offs, cumulative impacts, and opportunities for integrated solutions.
Our submission highlights the need for stronger cross-cutting mechanisms that connect these areas, ensuring decisions reflect the full relationships between land, economies, and communities.
2. Strengthening Indigenous Leadership While Advancing Sustainable Growth
Indigenous Peoples are recognized within several goals of the social and environmental pillars of the draft strategy. However, fewer references are made within the economic pillar.
This imbalance is significant given that many major sustainability issues in Canada—resource development, infrastructure planning, and land management—directly involve Indigenous lands, rights, and governance systems. The duty to consult is a fundamental obligation of Canada’s constitutional democracy and a cornerstone of the Crown’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
Braiding Knowledges Canada’s comments emphasize that sustainable economic development must more consistently reflect:
- Indigenous rights and title
- Indigenous-led economic opportunities
- Indigenous decision-making in land and resource governance
- Community priorities related to livelihoods, culture, and well-being
A sustainable economic policy framework that is grounded in Indigenous rights, title, and governance, alongside Indigenous knowledge systems and leadership, would better reflect Canada’s long-term economic, social, and environmental realities. Recognizing these dimensions is essential to advancing a strong, prosperous, and resilient Canadian economy.
3. Expanding Research, Training, and Knowledge Co-Production
The draft strategy references science, research, and training, but these elements appear unevenly across implementation areas.
Across the framework, relatively few actions explicitly position research or knowledge generation as central to delivery.
Braiding Knowledges Canada highlights the importance of strengthening:
- Indigenous-led and Indigenous-designed research
- Knowledge co-production between Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists
- Training and capacity-building for sustainability innovation
These approaches are already being advanced through initiatives such as the Strategic Science Fund.
4. Recognizing Knowledge Braiding as a Core Approach
The submission identifies the absence of knowledge braiding as a guiding concept in the draft strategy.
Knowledge braiding refers to approaches that bring together Indigenous knowledge systems and Western scientific approaches in ways that respect the integrity of each while enabling collaboration and co-development.
This approach is increasingly used in climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and land stewardship across Canada. National networks, including Braiding Knowledges Canada, have seen how bringing Indigenous knowledge systems and Western scientific approaches together through respectful, collaborative processes can lead to more grounded, context-specific, and effective decision-making. Knowledge braiding is central to Braiding Knowledges Canada’s approach and continues to shape how we support research, policy dialogue, and sustainability initiatives across diverse regions and communities.
While this approach is increasingly recognized within federal science and policy communities, it is not explicitly reflected in the draft FSDS.
5. Creating Structures for Cross-Pillar Integration
We submitted recommendations strengthening horizontal coordination across the strategy to better connect its three pillars.
Rather than treating society, economy, and environment as parallel streams, a more integrated structure could:
- Link knowledge across sectors
- Identify trade-offs and synergies between goals
- Embed Indigenous leadership across all areas
- Strengthen coordination across federal departments
Such an approach would support a more coherent and systems-based implementation model.
6. Amplifying Indigenous Knowledges and Languages
Our comments also emphasize the importance of community engagement approaches that reflect Indigenous languages, knowledge systems, and place-based understandings.
Sustainability concepts are often expressed through policy frameworks in English and French, which may not fully capture Indigenous worldviews or relationships to land.
Supporting Indigenous languages and community-led methodologies can help ensure policies are grounded in local realities, particularly in regions experiencing rapid environmental change.
The Role of Braiding Knowledges Canada
Braiding Knowledges Canada is a national initiative funded through Canada’s Strategic Science Fund that supports Indigenous leadership in research, knowledge mobilization, and sustainability innovation to enhance and inform decision-making and federal policy.
The program connects Indigenous leaders, researchers, policymakers, and communities to advance approaches that braid multiple knowledge systems.
Key areas of work include:
- Indigenous-led and co-led research
- Community-driven knowledge mobilization
- Training and capacity-building for emerging leaders
- Collaborative approaches to environmental stewardship and sustainability
Additional information is available in:
Shaping Canada’s Sustainable Future
The FSDS consultation process provides an opportunity for broad participation in shaping Canada’s long-term sustainability direction.
Braiding Knowledges Canada’s submission emphasizes cross-system collaboration, stronger recognition of Indigenous leadership, and more consistent inclusion of knowledge collaboration throughout the framework.
Strengthening these elements in the final strategy could support a more coherent approach to sustainable development—one that is responsive to interconnected environmental, social, and economic realities while acknowledging and respecting Canada’s obligations and responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples.